Because of The Storm
by Violet Chloe Snow
Summary: Nathan's unused dialogue from Episode Four got me thinking, what if more than one person got powers? And what if each person that got powers had different powers?
1. Lilliana Chapter 1

**Monday, October 7** **th** **, Blackwell Academy, Principal's Office**  
"Miss Quinzel, your family's generous donations to this school have led me to ignore the majority of your infractions, but I will not stand for you to ignore when I'm talking to you." As Principal Wells spoke, he dropped a file on his desk, thumbing through a rather large amount of papers. "This is, of course, your _unofficial_ record. Your _real_ record. Countless incidents of disrespecting your teachers, countless uses of vulgar language, seventeen incidents of breaking curfew, eight circumstances in which another student was discovered in your room past said curfew, and three fights with other students."

"Is there a point to listing out all my past misdeeds, Wells? I was there for all of it, and I remember nearly all of those incidents." Lilliana Iridescent Quinzel smirked slightly as she leaned back in the chair opposite of Principal Wells' desk. "Although I will admit, I was unaware that I got caught with Maddie eight times. I thought it was only seven."

"And of course there's Miss Kanarie. A student who was once a prime example of what Blackwell Academy represents, until she met you anyway." He pulled out another file as he spoke, this one having the name Madeline Kanarie written alongside the file's tab. "She still has one of the highest GPA's in the entire school, alongside eight incidents in her permanent record."

"Oh really?" Lilliana suddenly moved forward to lean on Principal Wells' desk, suddenly getting a lot more serious. "If I remember correctly, part of the deal was that Maddie's record was also going to be erased." The Quinzels were the second most powerful family in Arcadia Bay, behind the Prescotts. The two families had a mutual respect for one another.

"Of course, you get serious enough whenever it concerns Miss Kanarie. If only you paid half as much attention to your studies as you did to your personal affairs." Lilliana started to speak again, only for Principal Wells to cut her off. "Regardless, as agreed, Miss Kanarie's post-curfew incidents will be wiped from her record." He seemed to consider something before he let out a heavy sigh. "And once again Miss Quinzel, I'd like to-" She suddenly found it very hard to focus, her vision blurring as she fell into unconsciousness.

 _It felt like she was out for little more than a moment, but when she came to she found herself in the middle of a forest, and rain was pouring down like nothing she'd ever seen before._ What the hell is happening? _She looked around for a minute, before realizing she knew where she was. She could see the lighthouse at the far end of the path._ How did I get here? _She heard the sound of thunder, followed by the sound of wood cracking. She had no idea what was going on or how she got here, but she had to get to the lighthouse if she wanted to survive._

 _She stumbled along the path, dodging out of the way of a rockslide, and then a pile of logs tumbling down in her path. She slipped in the mud once, only just catching herself and getting back to her feet. When she finally got to the lighthouse, she was left breathless as she looked out over the bay, watching the largest tornado in the entire world move in to destroy Arcadia Bay._ Oh my god…this can't…this can't be happening. _She realized something all of a sudden, an icy cold flowing through her body as she thought of it._ Maddie…I… _She started to panic when the tornado's winds whipped a boat out of the bay, slamming it into the lighthouse. Just as it was about to crush her, she fell back into unconsciousness._

She jolted upwards in a panic, only to realize she was back in Principal Wells' office. He was talking, saying the same thing that he'd said before. _What...did I fall asleep…was that a nightmare?_ He was thumbing through her record again, pointing out all the violations in her record again. _It…it felt so real…I could feel the rain on my skin._ She blinked as she realized Principal Wells was looking at her, waiting for her to say something. "I…uhh…is there a reason for pointing out all of my past misdeeds? I…I was there when I did it. I remember most all of it."

"And of course there's Miss Kanarie. A student who was once a prime example of what Blackwell Academy represents, until she met you anyway." He pulled out another file as he spoke, this one having the name Madeline Kanarie written alongside the file's tab. "She still has one of the highest GPA's in the entire school, alongside eight incidents in her permanent record." He opened the file to display the various report cards and the violations she'd committed.

"Part of the deal you made with my parents was that you'd wipe her file too." She didn't understand what was happening, but she knew that pointing out the deal would make him erase Maddie's file. That was all that mattered until she understood exactly why this was happening.

"Of course, you get serious enough whenever it concerns Miss Kanarie. If only you paid half as much attention to your studies as you did to your personal affairs." Principal Wells continued after a moment's pause. "Regardless, as agreed, Miss Kanarie's post-curfew incidents will be wiped from her record." He seemed to consider something before he let out a heavy sigh. "And once again Miss Quinzel, I'd like to remind you to at least _try_ and stay out of my office." He looked like he was going to keep talking before a fire alarm went off. "Go. You know what to do." He let out a second sigh as she left the office, putting away the files.

She walked out of the office to watch the last of the students make their way out of the building, starting to follow after them, pausing at the door as she saw another girl exit the ladies restroom. Something about her seemed off to Lilliana, even more so when Security Officer Madsen started shouting at her. "Whatever that's about isn't worth dealing with that asshole." She muttered it under her breath as she left the building, following the rest of the students.

 **Later That Day, Two Whales Diner  
** "Lilly, you promised me you'd try and do better. You keep getting in trouble like this and your family won't be able to cover for you forever." Maddie said as she sat down next to Lilly, looking at her expectantly. Maddie probably would've kept bugging her about the promise if she didn't notice the look on her face. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yea I'm okay…it's just…something weird happened when I was in Principal Wells' office earlier. I sort of blacked out and then…I had this sort of…vision." Maddie seemed amused by the notion. "I know, it sounds crazy but it was…so real. I could feel the rain on my skin, the electricity in the air, and taste the salt in the rain."

"It only sounds crazy because _you're_ the one who doesn't believe in the supernatural." She started playing with Lilly's hair, tracing her highlights as she spoke. "Tell me about it. The vision."

"Fine. I was at the lighthouse path. There was a storm, unlike anything I've ever seen before. Stronger and deadlier than anything I could've ever imagined. I got to the lighthouse, after slipping in the mud and dodging more than a few obstacles. And then…then I saw it…the tornado. It was so much bigger than any tornado I've ever heard of." Lilly was actually shaking as she spoke, remembering how real it felt. Remembering the icy feeling that had overtaken her as she thought about Maddie lying in the path of that storm.

"You're really upset aren't you? Well listen to me, whatever it was that you saw didn't really happen. We're okay. W-." Maddie had only just gotten the words out of her mouth when the gun went off. Everything slowed down, not figuratively, but literally. Or, at the very least she thought it did. When she finally moved, she realized that she'd sped up. It only seemed like everything slowed down because she was moving so fast. Fast enough that she could pluck the bullet from the air, punching the shooter in the chest, before moving back to Maddie's side. "-e're safe."

All at once, everything went back to normal. The shooter slammed back against the wall as time sped up, the gun dropping to the floor, with no sign of the bullet that was now in her pocket. "Whoa, what the hell?" Some of the other people in the diner reacted to the sound of the gunshot, screaming only to realize that the shooter had already been taken down. Not only was he taken down, but he was out cold. "Lilly, did you see that?"

"Maddie, come on. We need to go." She grabbed ahold of Maddie's wrist as they left the diner, trying not to panic at the thought of what had just happened.

 **Thirty Minutes Later, Blackwell Academy, Prescott Dormitory Room 216  
** "Lilly calm down, I don't quite understand what you're saying." Maddie stepped back as she considered what Lilly was saying, before speaking again. "You're telling me that you can run so fast, you distort your perception of time? That you were the one that stopped that guy?" She thought about something before she spoke again. "What like The Flash?"

"The what? Is that another comic? You know I don't read comics, Maddie." Lilly let out a sigh before she decided to humor her. "Alright. I'll bite. What the hell is The Flash?" Maddie seemed more than a little excited about even the slightest chance of this being real.

"Okay, The Flash is a superhero who can run, well…really fast. Faster than the speed of light, fast enough to punch a hole in the space time continuum. So fast that his perception of time is distorted." She moved over to Lilly's computer, bringing up a bunch of different comics about The Flash. "Come over here, take a look." Lilly sighed as she stood up and moved over to look at the comics, glancing at Maddie suspiciously.

"Just so we're clear, even if this is real, I'm not wearing anything like that. Ever. Under any circumstances." She wasn't surprised when a look of utter disappointment covered Maddie's face. "All that aside…this looks a lot like what happened. Sort of, anyway. It's hard to tell with pictures." Maddie got a mischievous look on her face as she considered something, moving over to open the window.

"I know how we can test it…"

"Oh yeah? And how's that exactly?"

"Like this." Maddie didn't give Lilly a chance to protest, picking up her camera and tossing it out of the window. By instinct, she felt time slow down as she dashed out of the door.

 **A/N – There it is, part one of my Life is Strange story. And for emphasis, there's more to this story than just a Flash rip off. The basis for it was actually a single question. "What if the tornado gave more than one person some sort of power?" And that question came from Nathan's unused line about seeing the storm.**


	2. Lilliana Chapter 2

**A/N – Sorry for the delay, but I've been distracted with a few things, some of them being less important, some of them being more relevant. The most important of these things was fleshing out a new character and its powers.**

 **Monday, October 7** **th** **Prescott Dormitory - 5:15 PM - Lilliana  
** "Never. Do that. Again." Lilly said as she placed her camera back on her desk, glaring at Maddie more than a little upset. "I do not care whether or not you think I've gained the powers of some freak wearing a red spandex suit. That camera cost me over five thousand dollars." Maddie didn't seem to be concerned with Lilly's anger, apparently focused on something else.

"Interesting. In the comics, The Flash has a trail. A sort of…blur that follows behind him. You…there wasn't any blur. Hmm…that pretty much confirms that your powers don't work the same way as his do." She seemed to be examining Lilly, before she spoke up again. "I wonder if there are any side effects…certainly there has to be something." She started muttering as she paced back and forth, Lilly letting out a sigh as she looked at Maddie.

"Madeline, I understand that this is literally your wet dream, but we don't know how this works. And think all you want, you'll never figure it out." Maddie stopped pacing to glance at Lilly with an offended look on her face.

"Lilly you are not doubting me. I know enough from my own understanding of physics and the theoretical physics in the comics to figure out enough to maybe have a slight understanding of how your powers work. More importantly, I can possibly figure out if there are any potential side effects…like that." The last two words came out weak, as she pointed at Lilly's hand.

"Like wha-" She cut off as she looked at her hand, watching it flicker with translucency before it solidified again. "What the hell just happened?" She looked up at Maddie more than a little concerned.

"Well…I'd…I'd need to study it more extensively…to…to take a sample…but as far as I can tell…it appears your molecules are moving so fast they're destabilizing."

"Is it permanent? Is it just going to happen over time, or does it only happen when I _use_ my powers?" Maddie shrugged, not having an answer to that.

"Like I said. I'd need a sample. I'd need to study it further. I can't give you the answer to that question without further testing, but Lilly if I had to guess, I'd guess that it gets worse the more you use your powers. As for whether or not it's permanent…? Well…hmm…" She trailed off as she considered something, moving to drop down into the chair at Lilly's desk, typing things at a rate faster than Lilly could ever reach herself. "I'll need time to research this. In the meantime, why don't you go get me a few things." She paused her typing for a minute to grab a notepad off of the desk, making a list of things she needed, handing it to Lilly.

"What in the…Maddie with all the shit on this list, I could build you your own damn laboratory." She sighed as she grabbed her jacket, muttering under her breath. "Not sure how my parents will feel about me buying a science lab…"

 **Parking Lot 5:20 PM**

Lilliana reached into her pockets to grab her keys, crossing the lot to where her car was parked, distracted with her own thoughts. She didn't even notice Nathan walking up to two kids a few cars away. "Max Caulfield right? You're one of the Jeffersons photo groupies?"

"I'm one of his students…" Max replied as Nathan pushed Warren aside.

"Whathefuckever." He moved in too close to Max's personal space, his voice lined with anger. "I know you like to take pictures, especially when you're hiding out in the bathrooms. You best tell me what you told the principal. Now." Max, for her credit, glared back at Prescott as she answered him.

"I told him the truth. A student had a gun."

"No, you told him _I_ had a gun. That's why he dragged me into his office."

"And did what, give you a stern lecture?" At this point, Lilly had taken notice of the fight and had almost considered just ignoring it before she let out another sigh and walked over to the pair. Nathan was too busy losing his temper to even notice her.

"Nobody…nobody lectures me. They try though…they try…"

"You should talk to someone Nathan."

"Do NOT analyze me. I pay people for that. You should be worried about yourself Max Caulfield."

"Oh yeah?" Lilly smiled as she stepped up to throw her arm around Max's shoulder, pulling her close. "And why should she do that? You weren't about to threaten my friend were you, Prescott?" Max looked surprised whilst Nathan, if it were possible, looked even more pissed off as he bit his tongue. Nathan's Dad liked Lilly. A lot more than he did Nathan, anyway. He wasn't stupid enough to keep yelling at her.

"No. No of course not, Quinzel. I…I didn't know you and Max were friends. My bad." He gave Max a death glare, fully intending to start this again first chance he got, whenever Lilly wasn't there. She waited for Nathan to storm away before she turned to Max, offering a small smile.

"Sorry about that. Nathan's a bit of a…well he's a horrible person. And you can bet this isn't finished yet. If he sees you alone, he'll come after you again."

"Thank you…umm…really, thanks for that. Umm…my name's Max. Max Caulfield. It's nice to meet you. This is Warren." Warren gave a small smile and a wave.

"Nice to meet you Max Caulfield. I'm Lilliana Quinzel." That might've been the end of it, if a blue-haired punk girl in a busted up rusty old truck didn't start yelling at them.

"GET OUT OF THE ROAD." Lilly turned to glare at the girl, flicking her off. "Yea fuck you too assho-Max?" She cut off her insult as her eyes moved to look at Max, a mixture of disbelief and surprise on her face.

"Chloe…?" Lilly rolled her eyes before she stepped out of the white.

"Look, I'm guessing you two have a lot of catching up and all to do, but I have to get going. Got a few things to pick up. Once again, it was nice to meet you Max. Try not to get killed by Nathan. Actually, it'd be a pretty good idea to get off campus for the day, go with the blue haired girl." She didn't wait for the response, jumping into her own car and turning it on.

 **Arcadia Bay Lighthouse, 5:20 PM – Jay**

The lighthouse looked impressive from the beach, standing tall on the cliff face. But up close, it wasn't quite as glamorous. There was more than little junk and trash strewn about the place, and there were even a few wires thrown haphazardly across the place. Not that they had any juice left. The lighthouse's power was run on a separate generator. Normally, there wasn't a spark of lightning to be had in those wires. But today wasn't a normal day.

If anyone had been there to witness it, they'd swear that out of a nowhere a ball of electricity just appeared hovering above the ground, right before it spread to open into a rift. That's when a figure fell out of it, only just managing to stop himself from falling face first into the dirt. He slowly stood up, stretching before he looked down and let out a groan. "Damnit. I'm a guy again. I _hate_ being a guy." He sighed as he looked around to see where he was, walking to the edge of the cliff face to look over the bay. "I…I hope I got it right this time. This _should_ be October 7th…again."

The guy put his hands behind his head with a moment of consideration before he let out an even heavier sigh. "Guess I'd better go find this world's Lilliana…wonder what kinda powers she got this time around. Last world's Lilly was pretty lame." He started mumbling to himself as he turned and walked down the path, making his way down the cliff. _This time will be different. I know it will. This is the one. THIS time we'll stop the storm…or at the very least, we'll save more than just eleven people. I won't fail this time. I…can't._


End file.
